Why do you go to school? To eat, of course!- Ivory Coast
From "couch potato" to "mouse potato"!- U.S.A.Undercover kids- move over, Sherlock Holmes!- Scotland
The young and the wireless -U.S.A.
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http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,6119,2-11-1447_1319985,00.html
Although food is not in short supply in Bouake, Ivory Coast's second city, the rebel war that broke out on September 19 has crippled the banking sector here, leading to a cash crunch and making it difficult for most parents to feed their children.
The Action Against Hunger (Action Contre La Faim, ACF) and the UN World Food Programme have started feeding programmes in the school and in other venues to ensure that children get at least one square meal a day.
The rations are 350g for each child, and ACF is increasingly trying to feed the children at the site.
"Our surveys have shown that when they take food back home, the 350g is shared with older brothers and sisters," Keita said.
The children eat in the traditional fashion with their fingers. After finishing their meal, they wash their hands and then are given potable water to drink.
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Nationwide there is a movement called "The New PE" (Physical Education), whose goal, proponents say, is to help rethink the old views of gym class.
Instead of helping the natural athletes improve their game, the "New PE" model is to simply get the "mouse potatoes"- children who sit in front of a computer screen moving only the mouse, active and moving again.
Similarly, PE4Life is a non-profit foundation that promotes teaching children to learn how to keep themselves fit for their entire lives. Montani suggests that families can take on that role as well and move and be fit together.
"In my family we play volleyball at the beach together," she said. "At birthday parties we try to plan a physical, fun activity. Parents really have to continue to work on being active at home as a family. And to keep it fun."
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Undercover kids- move over, Sherlock Holmes!
Children go undercover to stub out tobacco sales
SCOTLAND, FEB 15, 03-CHILD "detectives" will be sent into shops across Edinburgh from today under a pioneering scheme to crack down on rogue traders peddling cigarettes to youngsters.
It will be the first time youngsters have been legally allowed to take part in undercover operations in Scotland.
Councillor Brian Fallon, the city council�s consumer services leader, said: " We expect to discover that, unfortunately, shops are selling cigarettes to underage children. If we do find that, we hope the Scottish Executive and the Lord Advocate will consider amending legislation to bring us in line with England and Wales."
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http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-3/104512027848090.xml
The young and the wireless
BY BEV McCARRON
Star-Ledger Staff
USA, Feb 13, 2003-
Their parents have used them for years. Their older sisters and brothers got them along with that other rite of passage -- obtaining a driver's license.
Now the middle school set, practically weaned on wireless technology, wants cell phones. It's getting them, too.
Englewood eighth-grader Aaron Mann received his pre-paid phone for his 13th birthday after pleading with his mother and selling her in the end by using the safety argument.
"I got it for me," said his mother, Mariella Romero, "so I can find him. He plays basketball a lot."
For Aaron and many middle- schoolers, the phones are much more than a connection to parents. They are virtual entertainment devices on which they can instant- message friends, play electronic games, keep a daily planner -- even, on sophisticated models, take photos.
Industry analysts say the 10-19 age group is the fastest-growing segment of the cell phone market.
But not every kid yearns for a cell phone. The Thompson family got one for their daughter, Jocelyn, 14, and their son, Brian, 12, for Christmas.
Brian turned his down.
"He doesn't talk on the phone," said his dad, Charles. "He doesn't call girls. Yet."
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News for Kids Editorial Team